Swanton man faces embezzlement charge

Nov. 5, 2012

Written by

Free Press Staff Writer

A Swanton man is facing embezzlement and state income tax fraud charges after Colchester police say he stole more than 14,000 pounds of copper wire from Champlain Cable Corp. on Hercules Drive.

Stephen Davis, 44, turned in the stolen cooper wire, which was valued at $46,750, to a Morrisonville, N.Y., business and pocketed the money, Detective Mark Jacobs said.

Davis was scheduled to be arraigned on the felony embezzlement charge in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Monday

Davis also is due in criminal court in Barre on a tax fraud charge. Washington County State’s Attorney Tom Kelly said Monday that he was reviewing the paperwork.

The tax charge covers $38,012 Davis allegedly received between July and December in 2011 and never declared as income on his annual return, which claimed he made $56,816 at Champlain Cable in 2011, Jacobs said.

A tax department spokeswoman said the understatement by Davis shorted the state $2,410 in taxes, court records show.

Colchester Police arrested Davis at his Swanton home Monday. Davis, who worked on the third shift, was with the company for about six years but was relieved of his duties in June, Jacobs said.

Davis initially denied any involvement in the thefts until he was told he was caught on video, court records show. Champlain Cable President Richard Hall said employees also had disclosed Davis had made recent large purchases, including a home addition, a truck, a motorcycle and a horse, court records show.

Hall said the company processes between 300,000 and 400,000 pounds of copper a month.

The Colchester investigation began in July and included numerous subpoenas to track records, Jacobs said. The New York business buying the stolen property said Davis had said he owned a cable company.

Davis often asked the N.Y. company to split checks because he was paying child support and didn’t want to have large checks to avoid paying taxes, court records show. The largest check he received was for $6,156, Jacobs said.

The Vermont Tax Department and state’s attorney’s office in Chittenden and Washington counties and Swanton Police assisted in the investigation, Jacobs said.

Champlain Cable Corp., a worldwide company based in Colchester, designs and manufactures high-performance wire and cable for industrial, military, automotive and commercial vehicles, according to its website.